


Star Wars AU

by djinmer4



Category: Age of Apocalypse (Comics), Star Wars - All Media Types, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Chiss, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-19 21:11:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17009286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/djinmer4/pseuds/djinmer4
Summary: Runaway Force users meet the Chiss Empire.





	1. Chapter 1

“Well, that’s the last of it.”  Logan shut off the holovision.  “Public execution of both Zebastian Shaw and Em’ma Frost.  That’s the end of the Hellfire Club.”

Ororo pushed Xavier’s float-chair in while the Shistavanen continued to grumble under his breath.  “Did they say what happened to the students?” asked Xavier.

“’Rescued’ with no casualties according to the news reports.  Pretty sure they ended up in one of the Sith cults the Emperor’s been promoting.”  Dark eyes watched the last two senior members of the X-Men arrived.  Scott Summers and Aikatarina Prydakios (known as “Kitty” to her friends) had only recently been promoted to cover the losses of Magneto and Mo’ira Mc’Tag’gert, but had stepped up admirably in dealing with the persecution of the Empire.  “The problem is, I’m pretty sure we’re next.”

“Why us?” interjected the red-eyed man.  “Why not the remaining Guard on Jeddah?  Or the Brotherhood?”

“Because the Guard on Jeddah  _isn’t_  made up of Force users.  Some Force-sensitives, but even those are the minority,” growled Logan.  “And the Brotherhood has what- maybe a dozen members at a time?  Two dozen?”

Xavier took over at this point, “You think they’re going after influence then?  Not just power?”

Logan shrugged.  “The Jedi were obvious targets for Dark Side hostilities.  But they’re not going after the Guard at Jeddah or the Antarean Rangers.  So they’re more interested in Force Users than wiping out the last remnants of the Jedi.  The Hellfire Club was the next obvious target.”

“The Hellfire Club was also made up of Dark Side users,” noted Ororo.

“No honor among thieves then,”  Kitty spoke up for the first time.

“Whoever’s running the show there, that Darth Vader or the Emperor, that person clearly wants to keep an iron grip on the galaxy’s Force Users.”

“But you still haven’t answered my question.”  Scott adjusted the ruby glasses that prevented his own Force abilities from flaring out of control.  “Why us and not one of the other major groups?  The Brotherhood’s members are more powerful than us.  Genosha has more influence and people.”

“The Brotherhood’s members are stronger, but there are a lot fewer of them than us.  We have maybe ten times the number of students than they have members.”  Logan opened up the mini fridge and cracked open a lomin-ale.  “Genosha’s bigger, but first off, most Genoshians are a lot weaker than we are.  Second, Genosha is firmly pacifist, while everyone knows we’ve been actively opposing Palpatine.  And finally Genosha’s a planet, not a school like we are.  Even now, the Emperor can’t destroy planets just upon a will, the whole Senate will rise against him and they still have a lot of power.”

“Us though, he can send a squad to sweep us under the rug and no one will give a damn.”

“He’ll want the students as well,” mused Xavier.  “The members of the Brotherhood are all adults, and not everyone on Genosha is suitable to train.  Perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky-”

“How is any of this situation lucky!”

“Lucky, Kitty, lucky in that we got any warning at all.  If the X-Men had been located in the Core Worlds like the Hellfire Club, Darth Vader would probably have gone after us instead.”  The bald man thought for a while, then squared his shoulders.  “Logan’s right.  We’re out of time.  We’ll institute plan Changeling.”

“You think they’re going to stop looking if we just disappear?” snorted Logan.  “Have I got a ship to sell you, Wheels.”

“Logan, I told you, my float-chair was broken that day, please stop using that ridiculous nickname.  And no I don’t think they’ll stop looking, but we do have a way to stall them.”

“And how are you planning that, Professor Xavier?”

“By giving them what they want.” He turned towards his caretaker.  “The only Force Weather Controller currently alive.”  He then shifted his attention to Logan.  “An escaped experimental weapon.”  The professor finally gestured to himself.  “The greatest master of the mind.”

“Professor no!” Kitty dropped to her knees in front of her mentor.  “We still need you-”

“I’m sorry Kitty, but it has to be this way.  I wish we had more time to give you and Scott, but this is the only way to get the students to safety.”

“We have a few days, but by the end of the week, the two of you must take the Blackbird and bring the students to some form of safety.” Ororo held up a hand to stop Scott from talking.  “The three of us won’t turn ourselves in, but we’ll make it look like we’re trying to lose Darth Vader in the more populated Core Worlds.  We’ll buy you as much time as we can.”

“And don’t tell us exactly where you’re going, kids,”  Logan grunted as he skulled the ale.  “They’re probably gonna torture us before execution, so anything we don’t know we can’t reveal.”

Scott stood stock still while Kitty remained on her knees.  There would be more arguments as the week went on.  But deep down they both realized they would have to follow the plan if there was to be any hope at all for the X-Men.

Captain Mitth’kurt’darcolm was in a foul temper.  More and more ships were entering the Chiss Ascendancy from the direction of the Exile’s Folly.  Nothing the Defense Fleet couldn’t handle, but the news these stragglers brought was worrying.  At the going rate, the Chiss were going to attract the attention of nations far greater than themselves, and there was even the possibility of the Exile returning.  His next report to the Aristocra was going to include a recommendation for more active reconnaissance of this Republic and that Empire.  The Chiss may not need anything beyond their borders, but that had never meant their neighbors would have the decency to leave them alone.

“Another ship, Captain.”  Commander Anri’Hank’Micoy, Chief Medical Officer and the only person who dared to cross the Captain when he was in a bad mood.  “And this one’s nearly as big as the one the Exile had crashed on the Redoubt.”

Kurt drew a deep breath.  Last time this had happened, it had been a disaster.  Yes, the Chiss had learned of the threat of the Republic and managed a crushing blow against the Vagaari, but at the cost of the ship, the demotion of Thrawn, the death of Thrass and the near ruin of the Mitth family.  If these were searchers for that missing ship …

“Start broadcasting the trespass warning in Sy Bisti trade language … and what Basic that we can.  If they continue, fire across their nose, but do not hit them.  Add the boarding warning as well if that happens.  If they don’t drop their shields, continue moving or if they open fire, only then shall we engage.”

“And if they stop?”

“Unlikely, but prepare a boarding party.  This is an excellent opportunity for acquiring more information about the Republic and the Empire.  And if they fail to heed the warnings … an opportunity to learn more about their technology and tactics.”

* * *

“’ … drop shields and prepare to be boarded.  This message will repeat.  Unknown vessel, you are trespassing on the territory of the Chiss Ascendancy.  Cease-’ And then it just continues to repeat itself.” Douglock turned to Scott Summers.  “What do you want us to do?”

“We’re gonna get turned over to Thrawn,” moaned Kitty.  “Then he’ll turn us over to Vader and it will all be over.”

Scott sighed.  “We don’t have a choice.  If it was just one, I’d risk the fight, but there are too many of them for us to be successful.”  He turned to look over the bridge, his ruby-visor hiding any expression.  “Kitty, you’re with me for the meet-and-greet.  Get two communicators with GPS, they’ll probably realize what they are, but hopefully won’t be offended.  Douglock, you’ll be in our ears translating.  If they kill us or take us off the ship, Angel’s in charge.”

“Yes, sir.”

* * *

“We’re refugees.”

“Refugees from what?  The Republic?  The Empire?  You invaders all claim to be fleeing something but never the same thing.”  Kurt was getting frustrated.  The outsiders were being frustratingly vague.  He also had a sneaking suspicion that they were capable of understanding Cheunh, although that should have been impossible.

The man in front continued to do all the speaking.  “The Core Worlds are in a period of upheaval and revolution right now.  What faction people are fleeing from depends on who they sided with originally.  Desperate people run far, so it’s no surprise that you would get refugees from all sides of the conflict.”  He raised his hands, probably a gesture of surrender or helplessness.  “As for us, we’re fleeing everyone.  We have no allies left in the Core Worlds.”

“Ask them what they want.” hissed Hank.  “They may be able to offer a lot, but we need to know what it’s going to cost us first.”  Kurt noticed that the other greeter, the woman in the back twitch.  Had she heard them?

* * *

“They want to know what we have to offer them and what we want in return.  At least they don’t think we’re smugglers anymore.”  Douglock whispered in their ears.  Kitty tried to hide a wince.  If they had anything to offer, they wouldn’t have been running away.  Still in for a credit, in for the planet.

* * *

“We’re looking for a place of safety for our students.”  For the first time, the woman spoke.  She was short, slight and as pale as a corpse.  They both were.  “If that cannot be found here, we will leave your territory as quickly as possible.”

“Let’s say we could offer you safety.  What would your company be able to pay in return?”

She shook her head.  “Safety means more than just a place.  We need assurances that you will not reveal us to any who are searching for us and that we will be defended in case of attack.”

“You have my word.”

“I don’t know if your word means anything.”  Kurt bit back a reply of how beggars couldn’t be choosers, but couldn’t hide the snarl from his face.  Hank just chuckled.  “She’s got you there.”

“A demonstration of faith then.  Yours is not the first ship colony ship we’ve seen from your worlds.  The last one was involved in a battle with the Vagaari and crashed in the sector known as the Redoubt.  We’ll give you the coordinates and escort you to see her.”

“A colony ship?  Here?”  The man and woman turned away to speak to each other.  Kurt could hear them clearly, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a language he knew.  “What was the name of the ship?” asked the woman.

“Outbound Journey”

“ _Outbound Flight!”_   For the first time, he could see emotions on their faces.  Surprise, horror, hope, all of those flashed by.  Finally, they managed to wrestle their expressions under control.  “Following your lead with the ship would be folly.” the woman stepped up.  He was surprised, he had known she was short before, but not how short.  She barely came up to his shoulder.  “I alone will go and confirm that it is indeed the  _Outbound Flight_.  If that is true, then you and I will negotiate the future of our ship.”

“Very well then.”  He wasn’t sure how seeing a bit of wreckage would help prove his word, but maybe these people would be able to salvage something from it.  The Chiss scientists hadn’t, but these people appeared to have compatible equipment.  “May I have your name then?”

“Aikatarina Prydakios”

“Aiketrine-”  

“Kitty if that’s too hard.”

“Kitty it is then.”  Hank flashed a smile and she took a step back.  “I’m Commander Anri’hank’micoy and this is Captain Mitth’kurt’darcolm.  But I know how difficult it is for humans to pronounce our language, so you can call us Hank and Kurt.”


	2. Neither a Lender nor a Borrower Be

“I need to borrow a ship.”

“You are the ranking officer in the sector.  You have an entire fleet of ships at your command.  What could you possibly need another ship for?”  Scott frowned at the Chiss officer.

It had been a year since the X-Men had traded Core World technology and assistance in salvaging  _Outbound Flight_  for sanctuary in the Chiss Ascendancy.  Most of the students and lower caste Chiss were growing friendly with each other, trading ideas and slang with increasing familiarity and warmth.  Unfortunately, the upper hierarchies weren’t getting on nearly so well.

Kurt smiled.  It was a smile that generally meant the smiler was looking forward to eating the smilee at a near point in the future.  “The Aristocra have approved my plan for studying your Empire.  But we’ll need to sneak in as something beneath notice.  Small-time smugglers would be a good cover.”

“So go rough up one of your scouters.  You don’t need one of my ships to do that.”  By that point, everyone on the bridge had stopped what they were doing to watch the argument.

“Despite what you think,  _Master_  Summers, the Chiss Ascendancy is hardly a deserted wasteland.  Showing up in a ship from the Defense Force will be a dead give away that we’re an official mission, no matter how ‘roughed up’ it is.”  He paused for a moment, then drove the second knife in.  “I’ll also need some of the members of your faction to accompany the exploratory force.”

“WHAT?  If you think I’m going to let you walk off with some of the students you’re out of your mind!”  Kitty stepped in between them before the argument could turn into a brawl.  “Scott, what if we lent him  _Widget_?”

“Are you sure, Kitty?  I mean, it is your ship … “

“This is a good opportunity to get more information on what’s been going on in the Empire, without giving ourselves away.”  She turned and looked up to meet red eyes.  “ _Widget_  is small and old, but that’s what you want, right Captain?  It predates the Empire, so it’s more than a decade old.”

“How many people to crew the vessel?”

“Half a dozen.”

“And how many is that?” The frown was less scary than the smile, if only because it hid his fangs.

“Oh, um, six.  A dozen means twelve, so half of that would be six.”

“That sounds as if it would be perfekt.  Three Chiss, and three from the X-Men.”  Kurt took a deep breath.  “I would be in command of the mission, so the X-Men need to be willing to follow my orders.  I will be bringing Commander Anri’hank’micoy as second, and he can double as the medic.  Not sure who the third shall be, I’ll need to get back to you on that.  Who will be accompanying us?”

“Well, me first.  I’ll follow your orders,” she muttered something under her breath that he didn’t catch.  “But I’ll have to be the one driving.  It’s my ship and the controls can be finicky.  Second will be Angel, the Lafrarian.”

“Why him?”

“Even being subsidized by the Exploratory Defense Fleet, we’ll still need to appear to be making enough to survive.  Given the size of  _Widget_ , that means low-volume, high-value items.  Angel’s has the background to know what would be good choices and to prevent us from getting cheated.”

The blue-furred man nodded.  “Sounds like a good choice.  And do you know your third or should I come back later?”

“Take the Shistavanen, Rayne.” interjected Scott.  “She’ll provide some much-needed muscle to the team.”

“Do you think me incapable of defending my people?” snarled Kurt.

“Well,” said Scott.  Behind the ruby visor, his eyes couldn’t be seen, but the slow up-and-down of his head made it pretty easy to see what he was thinking.  “You’re adequate in ship to ship combat, but no one’s seen you fight one on one.  I don’t want my people being hurt just because you’re an amateur, Captain Bloodeyes.”

The resulting brawl was swept off the bridge by one of the X-Men’s telekinetics.


	3. Lover's Quarrel

 Kurt didn’t care enough to feel embarrassed, but he was fairly certain he wasn’t meant to hear this argument.

“It’s over Pyotr.  It doesn’t matter what you say.”  Kitty was backed up against the cockpit door, arms crossed, radiating hostility.  It was the end of the shift, and Kurt had been on his way to relieve her of piloting duty.  Apparently, that would have to wait.

“Kitty, please.  This is the will of the Force-”

“The last time you thought something was the will of the Force, you almost killed everyone on a station.  This isn’t something you have a good track record in.”

Kurt still wasn’t sure what this Force that all the X-Men talked about actually was.  He’d seen enough examples of defying reason, logic and physics to understand that it was some sort of miraculous power, but the rest of what they told him seemed more like superstition or religion than anything tangible.

“But we are perfect together-”

“I was a kid and an idiot, and you still had a functioning moral compass.  Things have changed since then.”

“They have not.”

“Then that would be even worse.  If things haven’t changed, then you don’t need me in your life.  All you need is Ilyana.”  The black haired man leaned forward, effectively boxing Kitty in between his arms.  “I do need you, Aikatarina.  And you need me as well.”

“I don’t need you.  I don’t even want you.”

“Whether you want me or not is irrelevant.”  Large hands slid down to rest on the woman’s shoulders.

“Let go or I’ll phase your heart out of your chest.”

This was getting out of hand.  Kurt stepped out of the shadows, being sure that his scabbard scraped against the wall.  The two turned to look at him with wide eyes, Colossus pulling back.  “Good your both here.  Pyotr, Lieutenant Kreer’ona’ nuruodo is installing the new guns that were purchased and needs your help.  He’s starting with the rear weapons blisters.”  The other man frowned and a strong scent of ozone filled the air.  Ignoring the threat, Kurt turned to Kitty.  “Lady Kitty, I need to speak to you about driving  _Widget._ It’s all very well to use the autopilot when traveling, but what will happen if we enter combat when you are off-shift?”

Kitty nodded, then phased back into the cockpit.  Kurt was still uncertain how she did that; “the Force allows me to do it” was not an explanation as far as he was concerned.  Piotr still looked mutinous, but turned around and walked towards the back of the ship.  Kurt made sure he was gone before opening the door.

“Were those excuses real or were you just playing the knight to my damsel in distress?”

“I have no idea what nighttime has anything to do with it or what a damsel even is, but both those statements are true.  Ronan really does need help installing the new guns, and we really do need to decide what will happen if we need to enter ship-to-ship combat while your asleep or otherwise unavailable.  Although the second discussion can wait until you’ve had a chance to sleep.”

“I’m not tired.  And you’re right, we do need a second pilot in case anything happens to me.  I can teach you for the next two hours, then I’ll grab something to eat.”  She stopped and flashed him a smile that lit up her face through her fatigue.  “And thank you for the rescue, too.”

“Your welcome.”


	4. Touristy Souvenirs

_1\. Fire_

“Absolutely not.” Kurt crossed his arms and stood firm on the gangway to the  _Widget_. Angel and Kreer’ona’nuruodo ignored him and entered. Pyotr and Anri’hank’micoy stayed to watch the confrontation, Hank with a small smile on his face. “You don’t know where that vermin has been or what diseases it may carry.”

Kitty looked up from where she was cuddling the small, purple dragon. “That’s what baths are for. And I’ve already had Hank check it out. It’s clean.” Red eyes narrowed at the little beast. It was pretty clear what the Chiss was thinking.

“My mission.”

She smiled up at him. “My ship.” Until they trained another pilot, her authority almost equaled his. “Besides, it’s not like having a pet will endanger our operation. It might even help our cover.”

Kurt frowned but uncrossed his arms. “Fine, but I find that thing messing in my cabin, and I’ll throw it out the airlock.”

“That’s fair, I guess.” She carried the little thing past him into the ship. “Come on, Lockheed. Time for a bath!” She ignored the snickering from behind her as the last two crew members boarded the ship.

* * *

 

_2\. Earth_

“Finally, this is box is the last bit of unidentified cargo seized from the pirates.” Kreer’ona’nuruodo gestured to the crate in the room in front of them.

“Has it been cleared?” asked Kurt as Kitty poked the box curiously.

“No explosives, live animals, or infectious agents detected.” state Ronan. “But that doesn’t rule out mechanical devices. And for something with no chemical explosives, it has a very high energy signature.”

Kurt nodded. He turned on the intercom. “Lady Kitty, if you would?” The human made an odd expression at him but opened the container. “Oh!”

“Something wrong?” he tensed up.

“It’s safe, no traps or anything else. But these are weapons!” Kurt and Ronan quickly entered the room.

“Sith lanvaroks”, identified Ronan, as Kitty picked up a right-handed version and fumbled it into the correct position.

“No wonder they could afford such a nice ship,” she said, pointing one at the far end of the shooting gallery. Kurt wondered why the ship even had one, but it did make for a good makeshift bomb range when necessary. “Even I know that these are expensive antiques.” She loaded the weapon and fired at the central target. Of the six disks, only one hit a target, and that one hit the far left, rather than the one she’d been aiming at. Of the other five, two went past the range, two fell short, and the last one hit a beam on the ceiling.

“An expensive antique, but an ineffective weapon. I could never figure out why the Sith used them.” Kurt and Ronan piled the lanvaroks into two piles, one for right-handed versions, the other for the sinister side. The last was a pile of … hollow metal tubes?

“As I’ve been told, they used the Force to guide the disks. Like that, they could shoot around corners, at targets they couldn’t see and even have the disks curve back around if they missed. For a Sith, this would have been the ultimate personal ranged weapon.” She took the lanvarok off and looked over at them. “Was that all that was in the box?”

“No, but we don’t know what these things are. Perhaps you can identify them?” He held one of the tubes out to her. She picked it up and paled even further (he didn’t realize humans could do that).

“These are Jedi lightsabers!”

“What’s a lightsaber?” She shot him an incredulous look. “You can identify a lanvarok on sight, but not a lightsaber?”

“The Sith Empire was much larger than your Republic. They were allies of the Chiss.” He paused. “They are not remembered fondly in these regions.”

“Well, a lightsaber is a bit like a lanvarok. They are both weapons that Force-users wield. But the lightsaber is more often used by the Light Side, both offensively and defensively.” She turned back to the box. “They must have raided one of the older, abandoned temples of the Jedi. I can’t imagine the Empire would have allowed anything like this out of their control.”

The Force again. He rolled his eyes and ignored the superstition. “But that doesn’t answer my question. How does it work?”

“A bit like a sword.” She pointed the open end towards the gallery, then flicked a switch. A nacreous beam of light, about half as long as she was tall appeared from the open end. After carefully checking that no one else was there, she walked to the end of the gallery. One swing, and one of the targets was neatly bisected. Another, and one of the disks of the lanvarok was also sliced. She turned it off then walked back to him and Ronan.

“Very impressive.” Kurt picked up another of the  _lightsabers_  and turned it on. A longer beam, similar in length to what he would use in a normal sword and colored bright red appeared. “Is there a limit to what they can cut?”

Kitty shrugged. “Cortosis, phrik, Mandalorian iron are all resistant, I believe. Cortosis shorts out the circuit. And of course, none of them work under water.”

Not a complete replacement then. And there would have to be some training involved. On the other hand, the smaller size meant easy concealment and the cutting power would nigh unstoppable in the sector. A moment more of thought, then Kurt nodded to himself. He turned off the lightsaber, then attached it by the clip to his belt. The human gawked at him.

“We’ll take the entire crate back.” Ronan nodded and started refilling the crate with the lanvaroks.

“Why?”

“Several reasons. First, the lightsabers are a new weapon. Our engineers would probably like to examine them. They could probably improve on the design. Second, they are the weapons of Force-users. Your X-Men could probably make use of a few of them. Finally, this sector will be undergoing the usual evaluation soon. The lightsabers will be a good way to impress any of the inspectors, especially if they express interest in them.” Ronan had finished packing away the lanvaroks, but Kurt stopped him before he started on the lightsabers. “No Chiss is going to be interested in the lanvaroks, but any that your people don’t use, we can sell them on our next trip out.”

“I thought we were trying to keep a low profile. Showing up with a crate of Force weapons isn’t very subtle.”

“I’m not sure how it is in your Empire, but these things show up all the time here. The only unusual thing is how well-preserved they are.” He thought for a second. “Well, the lightsabers are unusual, but give us a year and they will be a standard option for the infantry. I’m not worried about it.” He looked over the lightsabers again. “We might as well pick some out while we have a chance.” He turned on another, smiling a the dark blue color and shorter length. “Ronan, would you like a lightsaber?”

“Thank you, Captain, but I prefer to stick with my cosmirod.” Kurt shrugged off the refusal. “It’s too bad that Hank prefers unarmed combat, but I will ask him as well.” He turned to the human. “Lady Kitty, will you be keeping that one? I know you can handle a sword already.” She hesitated but then nodded. “Do you know if Angel or Pyotr would like one as well?”

“Pyotr does not use swords, but Angel will appreciate the offer. I’ll go and ask him right now.” She turned her lightsaber off, stowed it away and then walked out. He watched her go, puzzled over the unease she demonstrated. Well, she would just have to get over it. He wasn’t going to lose this opportunity just because of some strange  _Human_  superstition.

* * *

 

_3\. Air_

“What’s was going through your mind when we first met?”  The two of them were taking a break from Kitty teaching Kurt how to pilot  _Widget._   Right now they were still in hyperspace.  Unless they were pulled out by an interdictor cruiser (the way Mitth’kurt’darcolm had done to the Blackbird), they still had half an hour of travel to go.

“I thought we were doomed.  I thought you’d turn us over to Thrawn, who’d turn us over to Vader.  Then we’d be lucky if we only died.”

Kurt frowned.  “Why would I turn you over to Thrawn?  Why would anyone bother to help the Exile?”

“You have to understand, in the Core Worlds, no one knows anything about the Chiss.  For all we knew, Thrawn was the leader of an entire nation of warfare savants who would be happy to assist him in any way..”

“Thrawn was unusual even among the Chiss.  And he turned his back on our values.  Only fools continue to follow him.”  The Chiss officer shifted in his seat.  That attracted her attention, usually, Mitth’kurt’darcolm was usually almost unnaturally still.  To be so discomforted about the subject … 

“You feel strongly about this.”

A moment of time passed.

“Do you know what Thrawn’s full name is?”  She shook her head.  “Mitth’raw’nuruodo”

Light dawned.  She may not have known much about Chiss culture, but she knew about their naming conventions.  “He was family.”

“A merit adoptive, but yes.”  A few seconds passed while he took a sip of soda water.  “That first encounter, with the  _Outbound Journey-”_

 _“Outbound Flight!”_  she corrected.

“He drove off two fleets, captured a gravity well projector and learned much about your Republic.  But he also preemptively attacked both the Vagaari and your colony ship, ended up killing his brother and most of your colonists, made an enemy of your Core Worlds and pretty much spit upon the culture of our people.  He’s a brilliant tactician, but doesn’t understand the value of honor and tradition.”

“You admired him?”

“He was my mentor.”

“I take it you don’t agree with the Chiss Non-Aggression Law then.”

“No, Thrawn had a point there.  Letting known enemies take the first strike may lead to an untold amount of damage.  It may prevent you from retaliating or defending yourself in the future.  But in violating one law, he went against others.  His actions led to the death of his brother, Mitth’ras’saffis.  It injured the honor and dignity of the Mitth family.  Did you know he was bonded?  His bondmate had to be rematched to a lower prospect.  He ignored all the harm his actions brought to those who depended on him.”

“What would you have done?”

“According to Thrawn’s deposition, he warned the  _Outbound Journey-”_

 _“Outbound Flight!”_  She was beginning to think he got the ship’s name wrong on purpose.

“-not to continue on to Chiss space.  Unlike you, they didn’t stop.  He should have waited until both the Vagaari and the colony ship were in Chiss territory before opening fire.  Some might say he also should have warned the Vagaari as well, but I think some pragmatism does need to be exercised.  More personally, I don’t believe he should have allowed Thrass to go back to the colony ship.  He had some smugglers captured, he could have had them assist as a condition of their release.”

The computer dinged to warn them that they were exiting hyperspace.  Conversation halted in favor of preparation.  Kitty refocused on the matters at hand.  Kurt had given her a lot to think about, but it could wait until she was alone.

* * *

 

_4\. Water_

It was a good day.  They had finally managed to capture and execute the leaders of the Vagaari/Hutt slave ring that had been preying on some of the smaller Chiss colony worlds.  To celebrate the end of this mission, Kurt had agreed for a three-cycle leave on Brask Oto for the crews and the X-Men that had participated.  That included the six individuals (including himself) on the  _Widget_.

“There you are.” he crowed, finally finding Kitty.  She’d hidden in one of the shadowy alcoves that had been created for the ‘thank-the-Force-we-survived’ party.  That seemed a little strange to Kurt; Kitty had never struck him as the introverted type.  Not obnoxious or attention-grabbing, the way some of the other X-Men (Quire, Jean Grey, to name a few).  But she had always seemed like the type who would enjoy a party, so it was weird to see her avoiding people like this.  “I’ve got some Chandrilan Blue that I thought you might like.”

“I’ve had some already, but I won’t turn down more.”  She obligingly held out her cup and he topped it off.  He aimed to sit down beside her, but was a touch drunker than expected; he missed the seat and ended up crouching on the arm.  At least he didn’t spill any of the wine, that would have been a shame.

He debated on subtlety but gave it up as a loss to the wine.  “Is there a reason you’re not joining in with all the revelry?”

“Was it that obvious?” Her smile was watery, and quickly dissolved in the face of his frown.  She leaned back and sighed.  “It’s not a big deal.  Just something from a long time ago.”

“Big enough to keep you from celebrating the death of the slavers?”  A wince crossed her face.

“Slavery … it’s something of a sore point with me.”

“It appears to be a sore point with all of you X-Men.  I ended up with more volunteers than I could use.”

“Yes, well, the thing is, most of them can’t see themselves in that role.”

“ _You_ were a slaver?!?”  He kept his voice down but couldn’t manage the venom that filled it.

“No!  No.  It was the other way around.”

That would strike a cord, wouldn’t it?  He didn’t usually feel shame, but for once he felt flush with embarrassment.  This wasn’t the conversation he expected to be having when he came out here.  He was sure it was something like Pyotr harassing her again, or Jean’s distracting Scott from his duties.  This was more serious.

“Were you kidnapped or … “ he couldn’t quite think of a good way to phrase the question.

“My parents sold me.”

That wasn’t good either.  But he knew that sometimes there were reasons.  “Were your parents poor?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“Apparently raising a Force-sensitive who just misses the requirement for being appropriated by the Jedi was too hard to deal with.  Although to be fair, I don’t think my mother had anything to do with it.  It was my dad who turned me over to Ogun.”  She took another drink of Chandrilan Blue.

He used the silence to think about it.  To his surprise, he felt a storm of rage build in him.  He couldn’t imagine turning his back on his family like that.  The thought that someone would sell their child just because of  _inconvenience_ drove him to fury.

“Ogun was a Dark Side Force-user.  Not a Sith, but some other tradition.  I guess he was looking for an apprentice or something.  I was with him for a few months, but then the X-Men conducted a raid of his place and rescued me.”

“Today I was looking at the children we saved, and wondering if I looked as scared and broken as they did.”

“I think I must be drunk to tell you all this.”

“Ah, maybe a little.  But thank you anyway.”

“It’s only fair I guess.  You told me about Thrawn.  I tell you about my family.”  Silence reigned while they finished the bottle.  Finally, she got up, stretching as the dim light played over her elegant curves.  “That’s enough.  I think I should try to get some sleep.”

“Good idea.  Ah, don’t worry about it, I’ll clean up.” He waved her away as she reached for the glasses.  She smiled a little then turned to walk away.  “Ah, Kitty, one quick question before you go.”  She waited but didn’t turn around.  “Did you ever see your parents again, after you were rescued?”

“No.  Never.”  Then she left.

He sank back into a crouch, making no move to actually pick of the glasses or the bottle.  She’d given him a lot to think about.  He wasn’t going to see Kitty or the X-Men in the same way.


	5. Bandaids Don't Fix Bullet Holes (But Bacta Does)

“I do believe you’re enjoying this.”  Mitth’kurt’darcolm resisted the urge to grab a stylus or chopstick or some other implement and scratch the intolerable itch in his cast.

“Calm down,” said Kitty.  “A few snips and it will all be over.”  She picked up the over-sized shears on the table and began to snip away at the cast.  “If you’d been human, I would have left this on for another month.”

“So that’s one difference between humans and Chiss.” Anri’hank’micoy was standing on the far side of the medbay, scratching at his own recently un-casted arm.  “Anything else you notice?”

“No muscle wastage either.  Even bacta doesn’t work that well, even if it would have healed you that fast.”

“Bacta?  What’s that?”  Hank was always intrigued by whatever new Core World technology he could pry from the X-Men or the  _Outbound Flight_.

“Um, it’s some sort of chemical mix.  Alazhi and Kavam bacteria suspended in ambori gel.  I don’t actually know anything else about it.”

“And you use this to treat broken bones?”

“Well, no.  It’s pretty much used to treat everything.  From trauma to heart attacks to stroke.”

“Sounds like a miracle cure.”

“Sounds like something the Aristocra would be interested in obtaining.”  Hank and Kurt exchanged chilly glances.  Hank would say that Kurt was too interested in advancing Chiss power to appreciate the science that went into discoveries, and Kurt would say that Hank got too involved in the science to the point of missing opportunities.

“Do you happen to know where we can get any of this bacta?  Based on what you said, I’m sure you don’t have any or you would have recommended rather than letting us wait a month for our bones to heal.”  Kurt took the lead in the conversation.

“I’m not sure.”  Kitty sank back onto her ankles and frowned.  “The Empire tries to keep a monopoly on supplies.  The only place to obtain the bacteria is on Thyferra.  And they store a lot of the finished product on Bespin.”

“ _One_  planet is producing this compound for the entire Empire?”

“There used to be others, not as effective.  Kolto is similar but slower and less potent.  But the Emperor had them shut down upon gaining power.”

“Oh, well.  Even if we can’t get them officially, there is still the black market.”  Kurt eased up on scratching and leaned back.

“No.  Don’t do that.”  Kitty frowned, then placed her hand on his knee.  “A lot of the bacta on the black market has been contaminated.  Forge had some and it gave him an allergy to bacta.  That’s why he has so many cybernetic implants.”

“Such a pity.”  Hank had been looking forward to seeing it in action.  “What do people use if they don’t use bacta?”

“Uh, pretty much the same things you guys use.”  The human flushed, turning from pale to red.  “Bacta pretty much dominates medicine.  Most new discoveries and developments come from people trying to enhance bacta’s effects, rather than doing something new.”

“That seems … rather short-sighted.”  She just shrugged to Hank’s observation.

“But what do you use?”  At their confused glances, he clarified his statement.  “As you said, the X-Men have no bacta.  So what were you using in between the time you fled the Middle Rim and the time you finally agreed to assistance from our medical facilities?  You can’t tell me you didn’t need anything then, I saw several serious accidents and battle wounds over the course of that year.”

“Oh, um.  We were using,” Her voice got softer and softer so that he strained to listen to her.  “Angel’s blood.”  The last two were so quiet he had to lean down to catch them.

“I didn’t quite hear that.”  Hank leaned forward, but Kurt leaned back, shocked.  “What?”

“I said, we used Angel’s blood to help heal serious wounds or illnesses.”  She glared at the shocked look on both their faces.  “Look, it’s part of his abilities with the Force, along with being able to fly.  And the reason I didn’t recommend it when the two of you broke your bones, is because it doesn’t always work.  We gave some to a Devaronian once, and it poisoned her and nearly killed her.  I wasn’t sure how his blood would react with Chiss biology.”

“A good idea not to experiment around with something like that.  Still, I would like to take a sample to analyze.”

“Feel free to ask him.”


	6. The Force

“When you first got here, I thought the Force you were so obsessed with was some sort of religion or superstition.  I know it’s more than that now, but I’m still confused.”  There was downtime between missions again, so Mitth’kurt’darcolm was catching up on office work and other administrative tasks.  Kitty, now the official representative between the Chiss Ascendancy and the refugees who were allowed to reside in their territory, had brought lunch over.  She had her own office, but it wasn’t like there were that many refugees and she did split her duties with Scott, so she usually had a lot more free time than Kurt did.  “What exactly is the Force?”

“The Force is exactly what it says it is.”  The Chiss glared at her.  Hardened officers wilted under that glare, but too much familiarity (and too many stupid near-death experiences on missions) rendered the human immune.  “Okay, you know what the four fundamental forces of physics are, right?”

“Strong nuclear, weak nuclear, electromagnetism and gravity.”

“The Force is similar to that.  It’s a field produced by all living things that exist on the quantum level.”

“So a person or a bacterium would create a force, but something like a rock or a droid would not.”

“Correct.”  She finished filling a bowl with some noodle dish and passed it to him, along with a bottle of water.  “But if everyone exists in the Force, why aren’t we all telekinetic or throwing out bolts of energy?”

“Just because people are 99.99% identical genetically, doesn’t mean that we’re all alike.  Being Force-sensitive is a talent just like everything else.  Do you have the same talents as your twin?”  Kitty had met Mitth’wagner’safis on a recent inspection tour.  They’d hit it off and kept in touch, but if Kurt had his way, they wouldn’t meet in person again.  He was rarely jealous of his Syndic twin, but he hadn’t liked how Kitty had mistaken Wagner for himself on arrival.  Wagner had managed the impromptu hug better than Kurt would have if the mistake had been the other way, but it still gave him a tight feeling in his chest that was … unpleasant.

“I understand that.  What I mean is what the difference is?  Why can one human or Chiss or Shistavanen can use the Force while another cannot?”

“Are there any Chiss Force users?  The X-Men haven’t seen any in the time we’ve been here.”

“There are suggestions in the records that some Chiss were taken as apprentices of the Sith, but those are ancient and unreliable.  Also, may not have had anything to do with the Force.”  He took a bite of the food she had brought.  Good, something nutty and spicy in the sauce.  “Did you make this?”

“Nope, can’t cook at all.  I think Remy made this, he’s on canteen duty today.”  She finished serving her own portion, and a few minutes passed while before she took up the conversation again.  “The Force is in every living thing, but the ability to tangibly affect the Force is not.  It varies from species to species.  Humans and Larfrarians have cells in their bloodstream that grant the ability, the Shistavenen and Devaronians have a certain organ in their body.  Some species, like Grand Master Yoda have organelles that are in every cell.  All these things are rolled up under the name midi-chlorians.  If you are born with midi-chlorians you can manipulate the Force.  If you aren’t, then you can’t.”

“So some sapients have these midichlorians and some don’t.  I take it that some species have this occur more often than others?”  She nodded while she chewed.  “Are there any species that don’t have midichlorians at all?”

Kitty laughed, nearly snorting her own water up her nose, then spent a few minutes coughing it out again.  “Ugh, that’s awful.  And Kurt, you can’t prove a negative hypothesis like that.”

“You and Hank say that all the time but never say why.”

“Because there’s always the possibility for the hypothesis to be proven wrong.  Sure, there don’t appear to be any Chiss Force-sensitives around now.  But there could have been in the past that we just don’t have records of, or there may be people now who have midichlorians and just don’t know it because they’ve never been tested, or even if there have never been any, it doesn’t mean that a Chiss with Force-sensitivity couldn’t be born in the future.  Mutations do exist after all.”

He had never really thought about it that way before.  Perhaps he should cut Hank some slack.  Then he remembered that Hank could have explained it that way any time before this and resolved to put the Commander in the worst mission he could think of.  Or maybe steal and keep the next bit of weird technology that they found.

“Wait, you said people could be Force-sensitive without realizing it.  How would you tell?”

“Some spontaneously develop some abilities, but generally you need to be trained.  So if someone starts randomly shooting lasers out of their eyes one day, that’s a pretty good indicator that they’ve got midichlorians.”  He reminded himself to ask Scott how he had found out about his ability one day.  It sounded like the type of thing that would annoy the leader of the X-Men.  “In the Core Worlds, a midichlorian test is generally part of the natal check-up procedure.  So an alert would be sent to the Jedi if any newborns with a high enough midichlorian levels were born.  Then they’d come and pick up the acquire the baby.”

“So all Force-sensitives were inducted in the Jedi order?”

“Nnnooo … I think they had to get the parents’ permission first.  The Jedi cut themselves off from their families, so a lot of people didn’t necessarily let their kids join.  And there was some sort of age limit.”  She finished her noodles, then reached into the bag to pull out some sort of fried dumplings.  Half went into her empty bowl, the other half she passed to him.  “Now that I think about, I think the Jedi Order might have been dying even without the Purge.”

“They don’t have kinder, they have high requirements to join, many people who meet the requirements don’t join because of the restrictions, and finally many of those who do join wash out.  Are midichlorian levels hereditary?”  Another nod.  “Your Jedi Order sounds impractical.  If they wanted more Force Users they should have required them to have kinder, not taken those genes out of circulation.”

“That’s where organizations like the X-Men, the Hellfire Club, and Genosha get our recruits.  People like Jean who were too old to be inducted, or like Jubilee who didn’t have a high enough level to be worth the time to train.  We’ve met a lot of people bitter about the Jedi.”  He wrapped his tail around her wrist, wondering if she was one of those bitter people.  An apprentice to a Dark Side User who’d had no voice in her own fate set aside like permanently tarnished goods.

“What abilities does the Force grant?”

“That also varies by individual.  People who are strong in the Force tend to have multiple abilities, like the way Jean is both a telekinetic and a telepath.  On the other hand, weaker Users tend to have singular, quirky abilities.  Scott’s only power is energy projection.  There are a lot of people like that, but he’s the only one who does it from his eyes.  Or my phasing ability; I’ve never met anyone else like that.”

“Is there anything in common that the Force always grants?  Healing, perhaps?”  She took another drink and thought about it.  “Force users do seem to heal better than normal people.  Not necessarily faster, but things like your scar,” she leaned forward and traced the red lightning bolt on the left side of his face. “As long as the parts remain, we do heal perfectly.  And longer life, yes.  Most Force Users have a maximum lifespan of at least twice their species average.”  She pulled away again with a frown.  “Of course, dying of a blaster bolt in the back could be considered dying of natural causes now, so take that with a grain of salt.”

Now that was interesting.  “Twice the average?  Does that mean you’re older than you look?”

“I guess that would depend on how old you think I am.”

“Sixteen?  No, you’ve were already in charge of the X-Men when you arrived.  Eighteen?”

She gaped at him.  “Why would you think I was sixteen?  Who puts a sixteen-year-old in charge of an entire ship of refugees?”

He flushed but was glad that she wouldn’t be able to see it.  “Fourteen is certainly old enough to take adult responsibilities.  And you X-Men did seem rather desperate when you first arrived.”

“Chiss are considered adult at fourteen?”

“We’re considered adult at twelve.”  It was her turn to look at him suspiciously.

“How old do Chiss get anyway?  And how old are you?”

“Chiss have a maximum lifespan of 80 of your Standard Years.”

“That’s not so bad,” she muttered under her breath.

“I’m 24.”

“I would never have guessed that.”

“Well, how old did you think I was?”

She bit her lips, clearly reluctant to say.  But he kept his eyes on her and moved his tail from around her wrist to her waist.  “F-forty.”

“Do I really look that old!”

“Forty’s not that old for humans.  I’m only 36.”  They paused for a moment.  “I kinda feel like I’m robbing the cradle here.”

“Really?  I feel the same way.”


	7. Decapitated Flowers

Mitth’kurt’darcolm walked into Aikaterina Pryde’s office then stopped.  There was a half-filled vase of flowers with more scattered on her desk.  Brask Oto had an ornamental garden/park to accommodate service people who would be spending a long time there, and Kitty had certainly spent a good deal of free time there, but she’d never seemed to be interested in flower arranging.  “Where did these come from?”

She laughed.  “Hank picked up some interesting specimens on our last mission out.  They were pulling flower heads off in the garden, so I decided to make some use of the discards.”

“You don’t strike me as the type to be into decoration.”

“On my homeworld, it was expected that a person would have a few artistic talents.  I’m not musically inclined and I can’t cook, but I’m a very good dancer, and I do like the art of flower arranging.  It’s some of the few things I’ve kept from before.”  Before she had been sold into slavery, rather than before she had been rescued, he guessed.  “There, it’s done.  What do you think?”

She turned the vase towards him.  A bundle of complex blue roses formed a dome for the center.  Topping them was a set of black orchids, while in the middle was a line of red lilies, with one more red lily off to the side.  “You’re mocking me.”

“Maybe a little.  The roses are Ithorian roses and the orchids are zinthorns.  The lilies are fire lilies.”  She held them out and for the first time he noticed the vase was the same shiny black as the CEDF uniform.  “You could put it on the shelf on the wall behind you.  Give people something to look at while you are dressing them down.”

“Or you could keep it on that table on the side of the door and scare people when they turn around.”

“That does sound fun.”  She followed his suggestion, placing on the end table where it wouldn’t be seen until people were leaving.  “Now, what did you come here for?”

“Just the preliminary proposal for allowing the refugees to leave Brask Oto and begin settlements on some of the Chiss colony worlds.”  He held out the proposal.  He supposed he could have sent it via the hypernet, but he always felt more comfortable with a physical copy.  She could just scan it if she wanted to.  “Make sure to read it and send it back to me with any changes.”  He turned to leave.  “Now if you excuse, I have to go make sure Hank’s new acquisitions don’t turn into the same fiasco like last time.”

* * *

“Do you like them?  I think they look like you!”

Kurt observed the furry, blue vermin that were climbing all over Hank’s lab and wondered if he could possibly arrange for Hank to have a mission to Dagobah.  Then he discarded the idea, the scientist would probably come back with some giant meat-eating plant that would get into the vents and require purging the entire station to get rid of.  Maybe he’d just have him deliver the next report to Csilla.  Hank had complained that the Anri family was trying to get him matched; he could put up with blind dates and omiai or however his family did things for the next quarter.  “They look like me in as much as they look like any Chiss.  Why would you bring them back?”

“Curiosity, of course.  Ch’hodos was a Sith world, and you’re right about these things looking like Chiss.  We wondered if there was a connection.”

“We?”

“Kitty and Pyotr were the ones who found them.”

“She didn’t mention that earlier,” Kurt muttered under his breath.  “Even so, did you have to bring so many back?  Couldn’t you have done biopsies there or whatever it is you do?”

“No, for two reasons.  First, the star that Ch’hodos orbits has become considerably more active than it was in our records.  We couldn’t stay there for long due to the radiation.  Second, well,” Massive blue furred shoulders shrugged.  “Try hitting one of them with something.”

Kurt stared at the scientist in disbelief, but pulled a knife from his sleeve and threw it at one of the things (rats? mynocks?  he didn’t have a word for them) that was clustered near the door.  Instead of dodging or getting hit, a puff of smoke appeared, then the same little blue rat was up on the back of Hank’s chair.  It was easy to see it was the same one due to the black markings on its face.  The furry mynock stuck out its tongue at Kurt and made a rude noise.

“Teleportation?”  Enthusiastic nodding.  “And they all can do it!  Imagine if it turns out they really are related to us.  Maybe we could unlock the potential to do so ourselves!  Not even the X-Men have teleporters!”

Kurt really did not want to keep these things around, but for once Hank had a good argument.  “Fffffine.  But keep them in your lab and under control.  I’ll see Scott or maybe Rayne about setting up a patrol to keep their numbers down.”  He desperately needed a painkiller.  “By the way, what are you going to call them?”

As if that was a signal, the critters started to howl and teleport all over the place, leaving little sulfur-scented clouds everywhere.  Hank smiled benevolently, and Kurt wondered how the older Chiss was actually planning to keep the vermin under control.  “Kitty named them Bamfs!”

“Wonderful.  I think I’ll need to have a word with her.”  With that, he left Hank’s office and closed the door behind him.  Outside, he saw Kitty’s little dragon beast, Lockheed, chasing down some of the newly christened Bamfs.  It blew fire and about half of the crowd teleported away, then seized one of the remainders and shook it like a rancor with a lizard.  Normally he was less than fond of the dragon, but in this case, “Happy hunting, little dragon.  Hope you have a good lunch.”

* * *

“I got this for you.”  It was a large plant, with a maroon colored trunk with delicate flowers cascading from the branches.  The pale blue flowers with their lavender stamens gave off a sweet, almost candy-like scent.

“It’s beautiful.  What is it and where did you get it?”  Kitty raised one hand to delicately cup one gathering of blossoms.

“I got it from one of your X-Men, Linli the Zabrak.  She called it a Succulosum Azure.”  Kitty paused and pulled away from the plant.  “She may not have known I was going to present it to you.”

“You do know that Humans are allergic to Succulosum Azure?”

“Oh, I know.”  He gave her a fang-filled smile.  “But the plant is so very pretty, I thought you wouldn’t mind.”  He set it on her desk, adjusting it a few inches so that it was in full view, but not in her way while she worked.

“This is revenge for the Bamfs, isn’t it?”

He didn’t bother to answer, but his smile got even wider.

“I think I’d better go wash my hands.”

“That might be a good idea.  Hope you enjoy my gift.”

She really was rather inventive when it came to cursing.


	8. Reunion

Kitty yawned, then tried to hide it from her companions.  Kreer’ona’nuruodo and Jean Grey took their duties very seriously and would probably view her boredom as mockery.  She couldn’t exactly help it though.  The three of them had been assigned to filter all the refugees picked up by the CEDF, but what was actually happening was Ronan questioned them while Jean read their minds, and then the two of them argued over the result.  Kitty was really only there to be the tiebreaker when the two of them couldn’t agree.  Given that there weren’t that many in the first place due to the Chiss xenophobic nature, what it really meant was that she was stuck listening to them argue all day.

The only thing that would have made it worse would be to have Quire doing the mind reading.  For some reason, the boy didn’t seem to understand that his actions had consequences, many detrimental.  After one too many unneeded revelations had lead to one refugee murdering another, he’d been pulled off the team, and reassigned to droid inventory.  And Captain Mitth’kurt’darcolm had taken her and Scott aside, to warn them that the next infraction by the teenager would likely lead to his execution.

Kitty spared an idle thought that she wasn’t sure Scott had actually told Quire he was on such thin ice, it may have been possible he was planning to use at as a way to discreetly get rid of the worst rebellious element in the X-Men.  She resolved to speak to the young man after the shift ended.  Looking up, she nodded to the criminal in front of the panel, or rather the guards escorting the criminal.  Both Ronan and Jean had agreed in less than a day, the glitterstim smuggler wasn’t a true refugee, and the CEDF could turn him over to the Empire patrols.  She gestured for the next defendant to be brought over.

The white mohawk, blue eyes and hell-for-leather garb didn’t immediately build the connection, but when the woman opened her mouth to speak, the familiar accent triggered memory.  “Madame Ororo?”

“Hello, Kitty.  It’s good to see you doing so well.”

She doesn’t remember much from there, just laughing and crying so hard she couldn’t breathe.  “I can’t believe you’re alive.  Did any of the others make it?  The Professor?  Logan?”

“I don’t know, child.”  She couldn’t see her face, but Ororo’s arms were just as tight around her, as hers were around her teacher.  “We separated almost immediately to give the Imperials as many targets as we could.  Although,” her lips pressed into a frown and the light dimmed in her eyes.  “I do know what happened to the Professor.  Darth Vader executed him in a public ceremony half a year ago.”

“Oh no … “ Jean had gotten around the desk and just heard Storm’s words.  “Not the Professor … “  If Kitty had been closest to Logan and Ororo, then Jean had been far closer to Professor X.  She swayed on her feet and gripped the desk for support.

“I think he and Logan might have been traveling together.  If it came down to it, he might have sacrificed himself to let Logan get away.”

“This is all very touching,” a harsh voice interrupted them.  “But not very productive.”  Captain Kurt focused blood-red eyes on Ororo.  “Now who are you and what is your connection to the X-Men.”

* * *

“She’s too dangerous.”

“More dangerous than being able to alter people’s minds on a whim?  More dangerous than being able to rip people’s hearts out?  Or being able to shoot lasers without a gun?”

“Lasers may be blocked and so can you.  Telepathy may be avoided or even rendered useless by using ysalamiri.  Someone who can alter the weather of an entire planet cannot be blocked.  Even the ysalamiri would be useless, it’s not as if rain or hail or freezing temperatures will just stop at the edge of their bubble.”

“Can’t the Aristocra think of her as an ally?  They’ve accepted all of the X-Men.”

“Quire is one bad day from being executed.  And they’ve accepted you because they think they can control you.  Part of my proposal to accept the X-Men included detailed plans on how to kill every single one of you.”  Kitty sat down on their bed, and Kurt realized he may have gone too far.

“I can’t even get mad about that.  Given what some infiltrators and the Killiks have done, that may even have been the right thing to do.”  She put her head in her hands.  “But she’s Ororo.  She’s the only mother I’ve ever known since I was twelve.  I can’t just turn her away.”

“That may not be an option.  Given how strong she is the Aristocra may want a discreet disposal.”  The Human looked up, horrified.  “Probably not, given the Nonaggression law.  But if she’s turned away, how long before some other faction snatches her up and uses her against us?”

They were silent for a while.  Kitty’s anger faded to contemplation.  Maybe Kurt couldn’t think of a good option, but surely there was something she could do.  “The problem is that her power cannot be stopped, right?”

“Short of glassing a planet by carpet bombing, I can’t think of any”

“What if … what if we came up with a device that would block her abilities?  Something like the way Mandalorian Iron can’t be cut by lightsabers and ysalamiri produce neutral Force bubbles.  Something that could be used to stop her if she went out of control.”

“Or if she acted against the Ascendancy.”  Kurt’s eyes shut and she waited with bated breath.  “If you and Hank and Forge can create such a device, and if she is willing to wear it, then yes, I will override Ronan’s recommendation, and allow her to stay.  Otherwise, we will have to look into a different solution for your mentor.”  He stepped forward and sat with her on the bed.  “I’m sorry this is so tough for you.”

Kitty felt tears build in her eyes.  For a moment she tried to wipe them away, but more kept coming.  “Y’know, I think this is the first time you’ve actually apologized to me.”

Kurt said nothing.  But he was willing to hold her as she cried, and that was worth the fight.


	9. Gratuitous Sex Scene

It’s not the first time, but it may well be the first time they’ve both been  _sober_.

Well, maybe not sober, but because they both wanted it, not because his blood ran too hot from a mission or she needed to take her mind off of grief. The difference leaves them both startlingly unsure and cautious.

They’re both on the bed and have spent more time kissing than they were wont. He’s glad he ate before, otherwise, the cherry-almond scent of her lotion would be making her hungry. She pulls away a bit, her right hand coming up to trace the scar on his face while the left slides down his back to gently grip the base of his tail. He shifts one hand under her hip to lift her leg over his shoulder, then accidentally inhales some of her hair in his mouth. “Eugh!”

They pull apart for a bit as he plucks the hair from his tongue. She falls back onto the bed and laughs. “Now you know how I feel every time!”

He moves back into a crouch, but the spade of his tail comes up to wrap around her hip. “At least my fur’s short.”

“That just makes it harder to get out!” If she’s going to laugh at him anyway … he leans over her again, hands sweeping up her sides to tickle her into breathlessness. She finally manages to capture his hands, moving them from her ribs up to her breasts. As he starts to knead them, her knees come up, to cradle him between her hips. The spade of his tail slips from her waist to play with her entrance.

When her breath deepens, a throaty whisper over the point of his ear, he knows she’s ready. He moves his hands then, one over tight over her hip to steady her, the other to guide him in. His tail slips down, away from her waist to wrap around one of her calves in a slow, rhythmic massage.

“Ready?” She takes a few moments, breathing controlled. He kisses her pulse, then on a whim licks the same spot to taste both salt and something sweet.

She squirms in response; looks like he’s found another ticklish spot. “Yesss … just go slow.” she murmurs. Her grip eases, one hand moving up to run through his hair, the other to clutch at his bicep.

The sharp nip to the point of his ear surprises him, hips surging into a faster rhythm. “You smell like the dessert rolls,” she says, her voice clear of laughter, but her eyes sparkling wickedly.

“I should, hmf,” She must be feeling more comfortable, he realizes, and starts to speed up his thrusts. “If you think I taste good, I should just bite you.”

She gasps in response to the change in tempo. “I, I wouldn’t mind.”

The end is coming faster than he anticipated. He grips her hips, hard enough to dig his nails in, then bites down hard, tasting blood. After he finishes, he keeps grinding against her, until she shudders-

-then slips through the bed onto the floor. “Are you alright?” It’s not the first occurrence, but at least she didn’t slip down to the next level this time.

Laughter assures him that she’s alright. Rather than phasing back up, she rolls out from under the bed and peers up at him. “I’m fine. Need to clean this up though.” She presses a hand to the still bleeding wound on her shoulder.

“I’ll help.” He looks at the bite mark and winced. Hadn’t quite intended to bite that hard. “Do you think you need to see Hank?”

“Let’s not traumatize the poor man more than necessary.”


	10. Tatooine

_Also known as the one time none of the X-Men could accompany Mitth’kurt’darcolm on a mission and he had to make do with whatever mercenaries he could scrounge up. Or the reason why Gambit is no longer allowed on the Widget._

“You did  _what_?”

“We had to use the ship as collateral to purchase the technology you wanted. But since you’ve decided to just steal from the arms dealer we need to get the ship, our money and everything else back. Jabba’s driver was willing to make a bet on the outcome of the upcoming pod race. I’ve managed to get a pod to race in. Now, all we need is a driver who can win and we’ll get the ship, our money, and the weapons without having the entire mob chasing after us.”

Mitth’kurt’darcolm pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to understand Gambit’s overly complicated explanation. “Let me get this straight. You offered our ship for collateral for the weapons that we’re going to end up stealing and now we have to get everything back by winning some race on this backwater hellhole?” He stopped trying to massage the headache away (futile effort on his part) and grabbed the Near-Human’s collar to drag him down to his level. “What possibly made you think this was a good idea!?!”

“Well, for starters, none of us realized we were dealing with the Hutts in the first place. My original plan just involved stealing the  _Widget_  back when we were done and booking it out of here. But we can’t offend the Hutts and keep a low profile, so I’ve got to come up with something different.” He paused, then eyed the lightsaber strapped to Kurt’s waist. “Although I’m beginning to think that the ‘low-profile’ requirement was a lost cause before I joined up with your crew. Did you know that most of the Mos Eisley are talking about the new  _blue_  Jedi wandering around?”

Kurt silently apologized to the absent Kitty. Apparently, her concerns about using the lightsabers weren’t just paranoia. But he didn’t let Gambit off the hook. “Fine. Since this was your idea, you can be the driver in the race.” He let go of the smuggler and started to walk off.

The red-head adjusted the collar of his tunic and watched his captain leave. “And where are you going?”

“To prep Kreer’ona’nuruodo and Anri’hank’micoy for the inevitably violent failure that’s going to come from your plan.”

* * *

Gambit hadn’t told Captain Bloodeyes he was drunk when coming up with the plan, and to be fair, he hadn’t been drunk. Instead, he’d been operating on paranoia and five days with no sleep, but he suspected that wouldn’t buy him much of mercy at all. So instead he had spent the past week trying to tune up the pod he’d purchased and teaching himself how to drive it. At this point, he could safely say he was competent at, but as to being a good racer … he did have one trick that would take out the other racers, and he was going to exploit his ability to the hilt.

Of course, that wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t get out of this stall and  _start_  the race!

He shut everything down, gave the engine a good kick then restarted. Fortunately this time the engine caught and he was able to get moving, passing the other stalled racer in front of him. A few seconds more and he heard an explosion behind him. “Guess these things are more fragile than I thought,” he muttered to himself.

Ahead of him, he heard the distinct sound of blaster fire. Rounding into the first corner, he saw a bolt knock one of his fellow racers off balance, then the racer crashed into the rock wall, exploding into fiery shrapnel (and incidentally taking out another competitor as well). Risking a quick glance up, he noticed Deadpool’s distinct red and black outfit. The sharpshooter took out two more competitors, then waved an impromptu salute to his fellow crew member.

Looks like he’d found one of the Captain’s backup plans.

Another turn and the racers were at the entrance to Beggar’s Canyon. One missed the turnoff and hit the rocks; another explosion but this time with no collateral damage. Gambit slid low, managing to pass another competitor by forcing him up into a stalactite. The resultant fireball singed the back of his pod but otherwise left him unharmed.

He passed three more competitors on the straightaway finishing the first lap. Not a great showing, but if he could keep this up he might be in a good position by the third.

The second lap saw more racers picked off by Deadpool’s shooting. Gambit also managed to take out two by himself. One tried to ram him just before Beggar’s Canyon. He didn’t bother dodging, just charged a card and tossed it into the other racer’s cockpit. The subsequent explosion knocked the quadrapod away from the entrance, forcing the driver to pull up lest he crash like the earlier ones.

The second came just after as he was leaving the canyon. In this case, he didn’t even bother aiming, trusting the other’s intake to just pull the charged card into the engine. Both of them were probably dead … but better them than him facing the Captain’s wrath.

By half-way through the third and final lap, it was pretty clear it was just him and the front-runner. (What was his name? Gambit had never managed to find out.) Rather than go through the valley again, Gambit hit a side-ramp he had during the second round, flying up and over the twisty canyon. The slight loss of speed needed to ascend was more than made up by the fact he didn’t need to maneuver (still his worst skill in the pod), and the acceleration from gravity on the way down. He managed to clear the rift just ahead of his opponent.

Unfortunately, while his relatively lightweight pod was good on acceleration, his opponent’s heavier engines had a much higher top speed. Even with the lead, the other quickly caught up to him.

The gambler waited, letting the opponent get ahead on the straightaway until they were just in sight of the finish line. Then Gambit popped the one and only nitro the crew had been able to afford, and blazed under his opponent’s pod and finished ahead by mere centimeters.

Once the pod had stopped he quickly got out, then hid in the pit crew’s section. Less than thirty seconds later, the engine caught fire and exploded, incidentally taking out the runner-up and his pit crew.

“Well that’s one way to put on a show,” he thought, listening to the screaming, cheering crowd.

* * *

“This pisses me off.” Gambit and Deadpool were mowing down the crowd of flunkies between them and the ship. Captain Bloodeyes had ordered discretion but subtlety had gone out the window once the two Near-Humans had seen how many people had come for their heads. And this was after Jabba had kept his driver’s word and let them walk away with ship, weapons, and lives.

“Who knew that arms dealer had that many friends in town? Or that he’d realize that we were the ones who stole his weapons?”

“I don’t-” Gambit dodged a shot, then blew the gun off the shooter. He incidentally also took out the appendage that held the gun too. “I don’t think these are the arms dealers friends. I think these are his  _clientele_.”

“I thought ol’ Captain Bloodeyes just made off with the Hutts’ shipment?”

“He’s an opportunist. I’m pretty sure once he got there, he just grabbed everything he thought would fit on the ship.” Deadpool turned and laid down a spray of covering fire while Gambit dove at the gangplank and rolled his way up into the ship. Ronan, who had been standing just within, braced him then threw some type of clear, foul-smelling liquid out the ship. Gambit charged another card, then threw it to light the puddle on fire. Deadpool then turned and grabbed the closing panel while whoever was at the controls started to take off. The red-head and the Chiss wrestled the mercenary on board, fighting the acceleration G-forces while the pilot tried to get clear of the planet’s gravity well.

It was only once they were safely in space that Gambit noticed that the Captain had joined him, Ronan and Deadpool. “Interesting idea of subtle the two of you have.” he sneered. The dim lighting made the red scar and fangs stand out even more.

Gambit spared the energy to throw a rude gesture his way. The sanctuary the Chiss were offering had better be worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by https://archiveofourown.org/series/414299.


End file.
